“Going solo wasn't a strict philosophical decision. It's happening because we just have to get going.”
Francis Davidson spent more than a decade building Sonder, the hospitality startup once valued at $1.9B. Now he's back with a new company: Odessia, an AI travel agent that plans and books an entire trip, flights and hotels included, in minutes.
He didn't start Odessia solo because he's anti-co-founder. He started solo because he saw an opportunity and didn't want to spend the next six to eighteen months searching for the perfect partner before building.
Five months later, Odessia was live with a product that already feels remarkably complete.
Today, the team is seven people. Francis says they're as committed as any co-founder would be. They have “founding” in their titles, meaningful ownership, and operate like owners.
In this episode, Francis talks about why he started solo, how he thinks about building an early team, and what he learned from scaling Sonder that he's applying to Odessia.
Listen now on the Solo Founders Podcast:
Solo, together.
Kieran
